Tagged: it
The Mall Gardens
19 Apr 2021
Just a quick errand to the Post Office to send off Mollog's Mob, but afterwards I bought a flat white and a new plant from Foliage Cafe and headed for The Mall Gardens to enjoy sitting in the sun and reading a book on the first day this year that's been properly warm enough for it. Nice.
The Mall Gardens does actually have some signs up letting people know it's a public garden, but I think it was only my researches for this project that brought the number of public gardens there are in Clifton to my attention, and reminded me that I could make use of this space in Clifton Village, a little closer to the coffee shops and a little more sheltered than Clifton Down.
I did. It was a good bench.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Clifton Village bench Patricia Ann Gerrish The Mall Garden
Auto-Tags: Plant Wood Rectangle Font Terrestrial plant Groundcover Grass Tree Signage Landscape Commemorative plaque Nature reserve Sign Natural landscape Address sign
Text Recognition Tags: Hello, Please respect my bench and look after it. This was installed In memory of my life by my lovely children and grandchildren. Take a seat and enjoy the view. Patricia Ann Gerrish ( Burt) 1942-2011 Hello, Please respect my bench and look after it. This was installed In memory of my life by my lovely children and grandchildren. Take a seat and enjoy the view. Patricia Ann Gerrish ( Burt) 1942-2011
Sequel Injection
07 May 2021
I saw this tweet the other day and started thinking of my second Covid-19 vaccination as my "Sequel Injection" (to a geek, it's funny. You'll have to take my word for it.) Whatever you call it, this morning I went and got it.
It was in the same place I got my initial injection—my left arm! No, okay, it was at the Clifton College Prep School. I didn't take any photos of the event itself; the NHS production line is so efficient you barely have time to do anything else, even if the privacy of other patients wasn't a factor.
Along the way I mused at all the road resurfacing going on in Clifton, and also discovered a secret (okay, not-well-known and possibly slightly trespassey) way into Canynge Square, and on the way back I knocked off a few streets from my "leftovers list" of north-east Clifton. I've got much of Clifton done now, with the only obvious "to dos" on the east side of Whiteladies Road...
It was quite a long walk, and I'm feeling pretty tired now, though that might be the effects of the jab too, I suppose. Anyway. Tomorrow and Monday I'm walking outside Bristol, I think, and I imagine my feet will need some recovery time on Sunday, so it might be a while before I post another Wander.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Clifton Village Clifton
Auto-Tags: Wood Rectangle Font Signage Poster Nameplate Commemorative plaque Sign Plank Number Siding Hardwood Landscape Pattern Plywood
Text Recognition Tags: KEEP CLEAR PLEASE BE WARNED THAT WE NEED TO HAVE ACCESS HERE FOR A BULKY TRAILER AT IRREGULAR HOURS IF YOUR VEHICLE IS PARKED EVEN CLOSE TO THE DOOR WIDTH IT WILL BE AT RISK OF DAMAGE LEAVE AT LEAST 50cm EACH SIDE KEEP CLEAR PLEASE BE WARNED THAT WE NEED TO HAVE ACCESS HERE FOR A BULKY TRAILER AT IRREGULAR HOURS IF YOUR VEHICLE IS PARKED EVEN CLOSE TO THE DOOR WIDTH IT WILL BE AT RISK OF DAMAGE LEAVE AT LEAST 50cm EACH SIDE
Shop Fronts of Regent Street
22 May 2021
I didn't even think I'd manage to get out today, such was the weather forecast. As it turned out, it's been quite a nice day, and I managed to nip up to Clifton Village to pop to the Post Office. As with my last outing, I decided after snapping one shop-front on Regent Street that I might as well snap the whole row, and muse on a few of them, the only service I really offer over and above Google Street View for a lot of my pictures 😀
I should really try this place at some point. The only Sushi place I've tried in Clifton Village is Noa, which was excellent.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Clifton Village Clifton shops businesses shopfronts
Auto-Tags: Footwear Window Infrastructure Building Car Door Vehicle Red Automotive lighting Facade Automotive exterior Personal luxury car City Street Pedestrian
Text Recognition Tags: Fujiyama it Japanase G T p LAND ROVER Fujiyama it Japanase G T p LAND ROVER
Shops, Hedgehogs and Cows
06 Jul 2021
I really only took the GPS and camera on a "just in case" basis, as I knew I was only going for a coffee in Greville Smyth Park along a well-trodden path this lunchtime. Still, I saw a few new things along the way, so I figured it was worth uploading the handful of photos I took...
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Bedminster Greville Smyth Park Ashton Gate
Auto-Tags: Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle Asphalt Automotive lighting Automotive design Tree Car Road surface Automotive exterior Gas Vehicle door Automotive wheel system
Text Recognition Tags: LOVE YOUR PARKI KEEP IT LITTER FREE # 2 MINUTE LITTER PICK IP LITER KDE WAT Y ON +N POERS 6 BMS BE CAREFUL PARK LOVE YOUR PARKI KEEP IT LITTER FREE # 2 MINUTE LITTER PICK IP LITER KDE WAT Y ON +N POERS 6 BMS BE CAREFUL PARK
Green Squares and Secret Gardens
31 Jul 2021
At the end of July I went to have a look around some of the private gardens opened up by the annual Green Squares and Secret Gardens event. Sadly it was compressed into a single day this year, for various Covid-related reasons, it seems, so I didn't get to poke around too many places. I went to:
- A talk by the oldest resident of Victoria Square
- The St Vincent's Rocks Hotel garden
- The Paragon garden
- Cornwallis Crescent gardens, both east and west
- The Polygon garden
And snapped a few things in between, too. It was a lovely day—a bit too hot, if anything—and it was interesting to get into a few places I'd only ever seen from the outside, especially The Paragon and Cornwallis gardens, which are the least visible to passing strangers of all of them.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Clifton Village Clifton Cornwallis Crescent Garden Clifton Open Garden Squares Green Squares and Secret Gardens open day Cornwallis Crescent garden
Auto-Tags: Font Grass Wood Terrestrial plant Groundcover Grass family Plant Paper Commemorative plaque Rectangle Landscape Paper product Document Publication History
Text Recognition Tags: Cornwallis Crescent (West) G5SG - 31.07.2021 Welome-ease teel tree to wander round the garden and woodland Comwal Crescnta home to wel er 150 u. ng in 85 h holds cangng fromente huse to mesty sin oor tats-a larcry fron the originaly olanned 31 households Itnot at the demugraphi prute whch has changed, there na cane forsuggesting that the Crescent sureetly enjoyru a perod efunerecedemad ke, cae and attention fm the pret generation of reutents, Read o. The ongnal plan pronatly by AIta Pay as tor a mplete shullew cresmtol 4hes Work begat a1791, buc akeady the gret spetidative bukdng boo of the perkidwas beginnirg e colapie resaurs become scar, lons had to ome by as finwnciers and buiders were edered boninatnd the debide wan completed wiiti the decteration of war wth France in Bding work vtopped with i tal houne in vanous states of complenn The area inust have arpeaet etroordinary to ute hom this ommentaryof R07 1do noe ecalect mone melhoy oectace westem enros of ms citwamot avofuts are so none than a wok oea d dou t gh tre sent and folng nouses n andesd Theraher meal, with loass on unfinished hauses stit beng gramed an l The Cressent then proably enjoved a hart heydaythough Alan yder's briet testory shows that many f the houses had fong untannted periods dne thied of the houses in the wntern taif atood empty at the time of the I51 census for instance, and the stuation is itle better ty L89L with fiet of the twenty three houses untenarted ind a further thres inhabited only by cartaken The problem of coure was tht many of the buidings were owned hy sentee lindhordi-some of whom tad itle interest in mntaiing them let alone imeroving propress was pite them Nan goes on to show tw y the early twmtleth contury undatian hod beyan to rake to Ang with much of ctor the Cescnt was to beame by the middle of the cntury an anw d cheap maaned odgings reachng eadr in 136 tem he oty cdund proposed to demalah itin prer to bda block of huh-e Datir Comwalh Crescont survtaed-and gadualya nee gonration of residents mode the finsl uarter of the twentieth century perkod of rapid change and runewis for the Crescent. The widespread derekction so evident in the earker part of the oury was gradualy reversed an, house by house Hat ly fat the procs of restoration and renovation changed the Crescent boch inside and mut The Garden Hdden tehind the Crestent's buidings and thigh boundary wal, the gurden is aw a surpriee to wstars. it's the best part of an acre, faces dje south and is shettered from the north-making tideal for terder plants and sun warshippers alte It consists of three laur, two of witsch used to be terns courts and the woods whih slope steeply soun to the bundary wal on Polypon Lane. Our longmt-standing resident. Myrtle Way ememten ter beng played in the tne 1950, though less famaly, one imagines, than in 1906 when the Comwalts Tenni Clit wa fanned Cornwallis Crescent (West) G5SG - 31.07.2021 Welome-ease teel tree to wander round the garden and woodland Comwal Crescnta home to wel er 150 u. ng in 85 h holds cangng fromente huse to mesty sin oor tats-a larcry fron the originaly olanned 31 households Itnot at the demugraphi prute whch has changed, there na cane forsuggesting that the Crescent sureetly enjoyru a perod efunerecedemad ke, cae and attention fm the pret generation of reutents, Read o. The ongnal plan pronatly by AIta Pay as tor a mplete shullew cresmtol 4hes Work begat a1791, buc akeady the gret spetidative bukdng boo of the perkidwas beginnirg e colapie resaurs become scar, lons had to ome by as finwnciers and buiders were edered boninatnd the debide wan completed wiiti the decteration of war wth France in Bding work vtopped with i tal houne in vanous states of complenn The area inust have arpeaet etroordinary to ute hom this ommentaryof R07 1do noe ecalect mone melhoy oectace westem enros of ms citwamot avofuts are so none than a wok oea d dou t gh tre sent and folng nouses n andesd Theraher meal, with loass on unfinished hauses stit beng gramed an l The Cressent then proably enjoved a hart heydaythough Alan yder's briet testory shows that many f the houses had fong untannted periods dne thied of the houses in the wntern taif atood empty at the time of the I51 census for instance, and the stuation is itle better ty L89L with fiet of the twenty three houses untenarted ind a further thres inhabited only by cartaken The problem of coure was tht many of the buidings were owned hy sentee lindhordi-some of whom tad itle interest in mntaiing them let alone imeroving propress was pite them Nan goes on to show tw y the early twmtleth contury undatian hod beyan to rake to Ang with much of ctor the Cescnt was to beame by the middle of the cntury an anw d cheap maaned odgings reachng eadr in 136 tem he oty cdund proposed to demalah itin prer to bda block of huh-e Datir Comwalh Crescont survtaed-and gadualya nee gonration of residents mode the finsl uarter of the twentieth century perkod of rapid change and runewis for the Crescent. The widespread derekction so evident in the earker part of the oury was gradualy reversed an, house by house Hat ly fat the procs of restoration and renovation changed the Crescent boch inside and mut The Garden Hdden tehind the Crestent's buidings and thigh boundary wal, the gurden is aw a surpriee to wstars. it's the best part of an acre, faces dje south and is shettered from the north-making tideal for terder plants and sun warshippers alte It consists of three laur, two of witsch used to be terns courts and the woods whih slope steeply soun to the bundary wal on Polypon Lane. Our longmt-standing resident. Myrtle Way ememten ter beng played in the tne 1950, though less famaly, one imagines, than in 1906 when the Comwalts Tenni Clit wa fanned
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Clifton Village Clifton Cornwallis Crescent Garden Clifton Open Garden Squares Green Squares and Secret Gardens open day Cornwallis Crescent garden
Auto-Tags: Plant Grass Wood Font Rectangle Groundcover Terrestrial plant Grass family Commemorative plaque Paper Paper product Landscape Publication Document Pattern
Text Recognition Tags: Alhe ongeat Besdents Asooatten w n tact an Ownery Asoction n uy otheresidents sarvants and tnantamply datn'tcourt,ifwe are to jutge buan the Minuts of the eaure Ground Commttue whch in 1904 voted that taretoes and mer faes be et permitted to ae he plrae ground The ervants were dearly a problem, and in 12 e evatad alwng of Mers in the gendens s ogin droughta that he delinguents the ernt ot No2and t waireoked at the on Secnetany should wite to Mr. Esery ponting ut the e of actithe Canmitee eulbe forct to nahe reted the einquit n Ais aniceIta ey to beas ur predeeos but through the laboun of anore ar less ful-ine gadener e per wkin 18 they worted hard at cresting and mantaning the ganden we njny tody. Over the pears the Minutes book refers constantly to payments for eeh and shut, andtor the paths the lopping oftand the manteriance of the was-al of whah remainstnie ti day with the tres being partieular thefore he Camtt The gardemer tate tio epee It clear that toth heuses and gandes uffered dre eet setwthe as and for the folkowng 20 ywars Then in 1963 a Residents Aocutun was farmed whech emtraed the sgir af the age led by anewneration of owner aupies.and spitad tenantsa deteined attempe as made to mole etryane in the care of their haned anironmant The fact that eerol taf serp undanter rub ws of the state to which the prdns had deckned. There are stl a couple of ndents iing hers who took part in that massive dea e Weowe them agrst e We try to contue that self ep echos today, in the bellef that z fosters a samn of community All ptup residents er fleer paare tomatkally memters of the RA all havenght of acs to the garden Reponshlky for geting things done rests with everoe. The firat Sunda of she month is a'gandening elorning and we takein tus to mange the rkforce and alleate tasks. Keen gardeners are free moved d from the gardets is exidence enough s as much as they ke. Becently we haive been trying te manage he ganden to make mare wlfe frendly. We no Inngor spray the gravel path and we leave areasf the lawn unmwn to amcurage inects Some bird boons have teen pi u on the trees and Soses and badgers ane regar viston the latter not slwy welcome as they dig up the lan for wonms and gns dandeningrt, the grounds anea perfact plavaruund for chiidren and aduts ae de foctie, an anal bonfenight sctacule treasure hunts and bithday partiem, outdonr Shakeprare, carol singing sit doun meaand dancing in ourmarquee Lockdown in 2020 led to Cuckinghan Palace and the intraduction ofs fock of splenddy productive rescue hers, and this ar we started to plane truit ree aey The parden seemi to survive everything we thew t it, se far Alhe ongeat Besdents Asooatten w n tact an Ownery Asoction n uy otheresidents sarvants and tnantamply datn'tcourt,ifwe are to jutge buan the Minuts of the eaure Ground Commttue whch in 1904 voted that taretoes and mer faes be et permitted to ae he plrae ground The ervants were dearly a problem, and in 12 e evatad alwng of Mers in the gendens s ogin droughta that he delinguents the ernt ot No2and t waireoked at the on Secnetany should wite to Mr. Esery ponting ut the e of actithe Canmitee eulbe forct to nahe reted the einquit n Ais aniceIta ey to beas ur predeeos but through the laboun of anore ar less ful-ine gadener e per wkin 18 they worted hard at cresting and mantaning the ganden we njny tody. Over the pears the Minutes book refers constantly to payments for eeh and shut, andtor the paths the lopping oftand the manteriance of the was-al of whah remainstnie ti day with the tres being partieular thefore he Camtt The gardemer tate tio epee It clear that toth heuses and gandes uffered dre eet setwthe as and for the folkowng 20 ywars Then in 1963 a Residents Aocutun was farmed whech emtraed the sgir af the age led by anewneration of owner aupies.and spitad tenantsa deteined attempe as made to mole etryane in the care of their haned anironmant The fact that eerol taf serp undanter rub ws of the state to which the prdns had deckned. There are stl a couple of ndents iing hers who took part in that massive dea e Weowe them agrst e We try to contue that self ep echos today, in the bellef that z fosters a samn of community All ptup residents er fleer paare tomatkally memters of the RA all havenght of acs to the garden Reponshlky for geting things done rests with everoe. The firat Sunda of she month is a'gandening elorning and we takein tus to mange the rkforce and alleate tasks. Keen gardeners are free moved d from the gardets is exidence enough s as much as they ke. Becently we haive been trying te manage he ganden to make mare wlfe frendly. We no Inngor spray the gravel path and we leave areasf the lawn unmwn to amcurage inects Some bird boons have teen pi u on the trees and Soses and badgers ane regar viston the latter not slwy welcome as they dig up the lan for wonms and gns dandeningrt, the grounds anea perfact plavaruund for chiidren and aduts ae de foctie, an anal bonfenight sctacule treasure hunts and bithday partiem, outdonr Shakeprare, carol singing sit doun meaand dancing in ourmarquee Lockdown in 2020 led to Cuckinghan Palace and the intraduction ofs fock of splenddy productive rescue hers, and this ar we started to plane truit ree aey The parden seemi to survive everything we thew t it, se far
I recently indulged myself by buying a little piece of history. I've mentioned Samuel Loxton and featured and linked to his drawings before, often in the eminently browsable Loxton Collection albums that Bristol Libraries has on Flickr. So when I saw a Loxton drawing of Hotwells pop up on eBay, I decided to get myself a little treat.
I don't think there's any Loxton drawing that features the road I actually live in—it's not very visible from anywhere else, not being one of these Clifton terraces that's perched at the top of a hill, or anything like that, and it's invisible in most views of the area. However, this Loxton drawing, Hotwells, Looking across the river from near the Clifton Bridge station, is probably the closest near-miss I've seen.
I decided to wander out one morning and see if I could reproduce the picture, and also take a photo or two of what's now become of the Clifton Bridge Station, which is still just about discernible in places.
(Then on an even stranger whim I decided to check out a possible little cut-through from Cumberland Road to the harbourside I'd been eyeing up on my commute to work, so walked to Wapping Wharf for a croissant via this potential new route, but that bit's not quite as interesting...)
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Brexit politics fuel crisis petrol station
Auto-Tags: Tire Wheel Car Automotive parking light Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle Gas pump Automotive design Asphalt Automotive exterior Gasoline Automotive lighting Filling station Automotive wheel system
Text Recognition Tags: O TEXACO TEXACO ps econtact make it yom O TEXACO TEXACO ps econtact make it yom
I'm afraid that this is a bit of a badly-curated wander, where I mostly just popped out to find out a little of the history of Underfall Yard and poke around the various open workshops, and, in hindsight, really didn't take pictures in any kind of coherent order. So there's a lot of pictures, but they don't really tell the story that, in hindsight, I seem to have been trying to tell, of the unusual electrical substation in Avon Crescent, the Bristol Electricity that predates the National Grid but is still in use, the history of the hydraulic power house... It's a bit of a mess.
But I suppose sometimes these wanders—always chronologically presented in the order I walked and took photos—simply will sometimes be a bit of a mess. Let's hope you still get something out of it, anyway...
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Hotwells Underfall Yard Spike Island Docks Heritage Weekend
Auto-Tags: Font Event Room Public event Carmine Magenta Signage Audio equipment
Text Recognition Tags: B oty Dea wwerth Pa Mae Ud y fer wa g sinegate nd L ham f ri and rerent it at ty it w md to sake the tre for m L wng BriA Table wee ar we y 14tG ang te m anraga te y pw niste nd se e dte werk a to Gft ia arenates The toe ers th rael pard or d traver aro te werkl g satana te the tale prled ky e efa ad ar Thie sere s dis un A tentert spare thread of in TM shege of aetion l rretation l an ya tatie ve calada t striker w the iv at freN e er to anather The lengn uf str et ty the a wster w ihe se of sto pd t f the vrktak The s odataastre veriates of 10 e k B oty Dea wwerth Pa Mae Ud y fer wa g sinegate nd L ham f ri and rerent it at ty it w md to sake the tre for m L wng BriA Table wee ar we y 14tG ang te m anraga te y pw niste nd se e dte werk a to Gft ia arenates The toe ers th rael pard or d traver aro te werkl g satana te the tale prled ky e efa ad ar Thie sere s dis un A tentert spare thread of in TM shege of aetion l rretation l an ya tatie ve calada t striker w the iv at freN e er to anather The lengn uf str et ty the a wster w ihe se of sto pd t f the vrktak The s odataastre veriates of 10 e k
I only found out from a recent Times crossword that "shivers" are splinters.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Hotwells Underfall Yard Spike Island Docks Heritage Weekend
Auto-Tags: Motor vehicle Font Poster Signage Vehicle Advertising Landscape Soil Banner Recipe Sign Luxury vehicle Transport Aircraft Rock
Text Recognition Tags: SLIPWAY RESTORATION TIMBERS There has been a slipway at Underfall Yard since at least the 1850s and records show that the wooden cradle has been renewed every thirty to forty years. It was last restored by Underfall Yard Trust in the 1990s and after accommodating a variety of vessels weighing up to 150 tons, it is now in need of repair. This challenging project is being completed by Underfall Yard's boatbuilders. Parts of the cradle will be rebuilt using a hardwood called Greenheart The density, hardness and stiffness of Greenheart make it ideal for use in marine environments where strength and durability are paramount. Greenheart is also rot-resistant and can last for many years even when fully submerged which means the end of the cradle nearest to the harbour can remain underwater. GREENHEART n so bevSETHAT THONE OFTHE EW TSOr WOOD THAT DORINT OATHE sornst WOO0INTHEWORLD BALSA WHCH HASA DEND TY OF 1KG R CUBIC ETRL CABINHEART HASA DNSITY OF ID40 KG PE CUBICHETR THE SZFANDwtICHT OFTHETHIEEMA THISA CHA vON HOECY THE TOUHES OF TH WOOD ALO HAEESIT DCAT TO WOM WITH UNDERFALL YARD SLIPWAY RESTORATION TIMBERS There has been a slipway at Underfall Yard since at least the 1850s and records show that the wooden cradle has been renewed every thirty to forty years. It was last restored by Underfall Yard Trust in the 1990s and after accommodating a variety of vessels weighing up to 150 tons, it is now in need of repair. This challenging project is being completed by Underfall Yard's boatbuilders. Parts of the cradle will be rebuilt using a hardwood called Greenheart The density, hardness and stiffness of Greenheart make it ideal for use in marine environments where strength and durability are paramount. Greenheart is also rot-resistant and can last for many years even when fully submerged which means the end of the cradle nearest to the harbour can remain underwater. GREENHEART n so bevSETHAT THONE OFTHE EW TSOr WOOD THAT DORINT OATHE sornst WOO0INTHEWORLD BALSA WHCH HASA DEND TY OF 1KG R CUBIC ETRL CABINHEART HASA DNSITY OF ID40 KG PE CUBICHETR THE SZFANDwtICHT OFTHETHIEEMA THISA CHA vON HOECY THE TOUHES OF TH WOOD ALO HAEESIT DCAT TO WOM WITH UNDERFALL YARD
Bower Ashton is an interesting little area just south of the river from me—in fact, the Rownham Ferry used to take people over from Hotwells to Bower Ashton, operating from at least the twelfth century to around the 1930s.
It's a strangely contradictory little area, with a cluster of old and new houses sandwiched in between the busy A-roads and significantly more industrial area of Ashton and the bucolic country estate of Ashton court roughly east to west, and also between Somerset and Bristol, north to south.
I've been around here before, mostly poking around Bower Ashton's arguably most well-known bit, the Arts faculty campus of the University of the West of England, but I'd missed at least Parklands Road and Blackmoors Lane, so I initially planned just to nip across briefly and wander down each in turn. On a whim, though, I texted my friends Sarah and Vik in case they were out and about, and ended up diverting to the Tobacco Factory Sunday market first, to grab a quick flat white with them, extending my journey a fair bit.
To start with, though, I nipped to a much more local destination, to see something that you can't actually see at all, the Gridiron...
(I also used this wander as a test of the cameras in my new phone. I finally upgraded after a few years, and the new one has extra, separate wide and telephoto lenses compared to the paltry single lens on my old phone. Gawd. I remember when speed-dial was the latest innovation in phones...)
I don't believe you!
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Bedminster Ashton
Auto-Tags: Handwriting Road surface Wood Art Tints and shades Concrete Flooring Road Asphalt Space Composite material Event City Font Paint
Text Recognition Tags: IT WASN'T ME! IT WASN'T ME!
A Door, a Square, a Few Night Shots
04 Dec 2021
I didn't take many pictures on this quite long wander, partly because Lisa and I wandered across to Bedminster via Bower Ashton, which I've snapped quite a lot of on the last couple of walks, and also because we lost the light fairly quickly, though spending a half-hour drinking mulled wine in the Ashton might have had a little to do with that...
Before we left Hotwells I wanted to visit a door I'd heard about on Cornwallis Crescent and also take a little look at a couple of houses in Dowry Square to consider the 1960s regeneration of Hotwells.
It's possible I had a bit too much alcohol—Lisa and I stopped off for another mulled wine at Corks on Wapping Wharf (best mulled wine in Bristol; they use ruby port), then had one in the Rose of Denmark and one for the road (in Lisa's case, the bus down the Portway back to Shirehampton) in the Merchant's Arms, which I must visit more often. They had the fire going and were as welcoming as ever.
Anyway. After waving Lisa off I tried to buy fish & chips but was stymied by the Hotwells Fish Bar not being open, so ended up in RED, which certainly has some of the strongest branding on the Hotwell Road.
I seem to remember something about rats being driven mad by an experiment that saw them locked in a bright red room, but the staff here seemed calm enough. A quotidian shot to end on, but a genuine slice of everyday life, I suppose.
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom Hotwells red RED Pizza Company pizza
Auto-Tags: Building Interior design Television Flooring Gas Ceiling Machine Event Logo Advertising Room Fast food restaurant Automotive design Transport
Text Recognition Tags: THE IZZZA TASTE IT. LOVE IT. RED IT HAND BASKED COMPANT THE RED PIZZA COMPANY in THE IZZZA TASTE IT. LOVE IT. RED IT HAND BASKED COMPANT THE RED PIZZA COMPANY in
I mostly went out to hang out with my friends Sarah and Vik in Bedminster, but along the way I thought I'd take a closer look at something a little nearer home: the last crossing point of the Rownham Ferry.
And here's the picture that inspired this little local visit today. A week or so back I was browsing the boxes of books at Rachel's and Michael's Antiques on Princess VIctoria Street, and flipping through their collection of Reece Winstone books. Winstone's famous Bristol As It Was series are an amazing documentary source created by a man who loved both photography and Bristol and effectively became Bristol's foremost documentary photographer for decades. A lot more of Bristol's history is visible today because of him.
In the Bristol As It Was 1939 - 1914 book I saw this picture of the Rownham Ferry. Unfortunately the book was a first edition and priced at £20, so I ordered a cheaper edition from an independent dealer in Stockport when I got home! (Let's consider that as me leaving the rare first edition for the true connoisseurs, rather than just being cheap.)
Here we see the ferry just five days before its closure on the last day of 1932. Looking closely, it seems to be perhaps operating as a reaction ferry, with the boat tethered to a static line across the river, and the ferryman using the rudder to turn the boat and use the power of the flowing water to shuttle the boat from side to side. Clever!
Photo © Reece Winstone Archive. (I recommend buying the books if you like old photos of Bristol. They're amazing!)
Tags: Bristol Places UK onemilematt united kingdom river avon avon new cut Spike Island history Rownham Ferry
Auto-Tags: Boat Water Watercraft Vehicle Naval architecture Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Ship Motor vehicle History Monochrome Water transportation Stock photography Lake Monochrome photography Sky
Text Recognition Tags: (63) 26 December 1932 : Rownham Ferry, Hotwells, discontinued 5 days later. There was a river crossing here since Norman days and carried the Abbot of St. Augustine's on his way to Abbot's Leigh. Before the 1870's when Cumberland Basin was re-designed, the crossing was further down- stream. Dangerous at high tide, it was merely a bridge of boats at low tide. (63) 26 December 1932 : Rownham Ferry, Hotwells, discontinued 5 days later. There was a river crossing here since Norman days and carried the Abbot of St. Augustine's on his way to Abbot's Leigh. Before the 1870's when Cumberland Basin was re-designed, the crossing was further down- stream. Dangerous at high tide, it was merely a bridge of boats at low tide.